In international and domestic telephony there is a vast array of call progress monitoring (CPM) tones, which tones vary quite a bit depending on factors such as, geographic location, type of private business exchange (PBX), and so forth. This situation renders the job of making and troubleshooting CPM detection system for use with a voice messaging system (VMS) which can detect this vast array of CPM tones very difficult. As a result, troubleshooting a CPM detection system often requires a visit to the system site by an expert on that system.
In the prior art, testing, debugging, and troubleshooting of a CPM detection system is done as follows: (a) the software of the CPM detection system reports or logs information which indicates what the CPM detection system "thought" it "heard," i.e., the output of the CPM detection system or (b) a human, using, for example, a buttset telephone, concurrently taps into a trunk connected to a voice channel and eavesdrops on what is being "heard" by the CPM detection system on the voice channel, i.e., the raw voice data or CPM tones input to the CPM detection system.
The above-described prior art methods of testing, debugging, and troubleshooting have several problems. The following is a list of some of these problems: (a) the person performing the testing, debugging, and troubleshooting is typically required to be present at the site of the VMS containing the CPM detection system; (b) the person is typically required to have a buttset telephone which is utilized to tap into a trunk connected to a voice channel--this can be extremely difficult and typically requires expertise; (c) a buttset telephone does not work with digital links or trunks--this makes troubleshooting on a system with digital links nearly impossible; (d) the person typically does not have a convenient way of recording actual CPM tones being transmitted over the voice channel; (e) the person has to troubleshoot at a pace dictated by the CPM tones and events occurring at the VMS hosting the CPM detection system; and (f) it is very difficult, if not impossible, for the person to troubleshoot on multiple voice channels concurrently.
As a result, there is a need in the art for a method for use in developing, testing, debugging, and/or troubleshooting a CPM detection system which is utilized, for example, by a VMS. Further, there is a need for such a method which: (a) can provide developing, testing, debugging, and troubleshooting on site or remotely; (b) does not require special equipment such a buttset telephone for troubleshooting; and (c) works with digital and analog trunks or links.